The Truth Hurts
by Sonya Petrova
Summary: When SHIELD finally puts Clint back to work the assignment lands Clint directly in the middle of a conspiracy involving the sale of SHIELD secrets and the Council sworn to protect them.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is my first fanfiction. I really hope it goes well and all that jazz. So, I recently had a bit of a change in my life that had a lot to do with honesty and truth and the power behind those things. A lie is an illusion just covering up the truth, no matter how good the lie it is only an illusion. That's something I think everyone should know. Anyways, this change in my life affected all parts of my life including the part of me that writes. I recently received the Avengers movie as a gift and once I saw it this idea came to my mind. Sometimes the truth hurts.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own them. I wish I did. I don't though.**

**AVENGERSAVENGERSAVENGERS**

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple." –Oscar Wilde

**AVENGERSAVENGERSAVENGERS**

There is nothing wrong with an uneventful life and perhaps of all people, Clint Barton should have known that. In the year after the battle against Loki Clint had gone on only two missions – both with Natasha. However, anyone accustomed to daily action and adventure didn't rest easily. That's probably why the infamous Hawkeye was walking down the hall to Director Fury's office with a little too much bounce in his step for someone about to receive an assassination assignment.

He wore a smile on his face and he greeted all in the hallway with a curt nod or a short wave. When he finally reached the door to Director Fury's office he knocked twice, entered without waiting for a response, and took a seat in the chair across from Fury. The Director watched all this with his one good eye and then said sarcastically, "Come on in. Make yourself at home."

"Don't mind if I do," Clint replied. "What have you got for me? Terrorist? Arms dealer? Drug kingpin?"

Fury handed over the manila file to Clint wordlessly. His eye never left Clint's face. Clint flipped through the file and as he did so the smile faltered. "A corrupt politician? That's it?"

"Is that not good enough for you?" Fury asked. Clint had worked for SHIELD for many years but unlike Coulson he'd never really gotten the hang of knowing when Fury was trying to be funny.

"No." Clint frowned at the picture of his target. He was a fairly average man with a thousand watt smile that politicians had, dressed smartly, and with unusually dark blue eyes. "Well, I mean just about any of your little junior agents could pull this off. If it was a _group _of corrupt politicians you might need me but this is kind of small potatoes."

"So it's not good enough for you?" Fury repeated.

Clint looked up at Fury and then back down at the target. He sighed. Sure, he'd been hoping for something with a little more action but he'd take what he could get. "No, it's fine."

"Good," Fury said. "Because the Council asked for you in particular to be put on this assignment and I am not going to argue with them because you think you're too good for this one."

"No, don't worry about that. I got it," Clint replied quickly.

"Well, now that I've got your permission I'll rest easier," Fury said drolly.

"Am I at least doing this one on my own?" Clint asked. He didn't think his pride could handle another mission with Natasha there to make sure he didn't break down, especially a mission this easy.

"Do you have a problem working with Agent Romanoff?" The Director asked without looking up from his paperwork.

"Of course not. We work great together and all but, I can tie my shoes without tactical support," Clint replied.

Fury nodded like he understood. Maybe he did. "Agent Romanoff will be flying you to Paris for the mission but that's the only role she'll be supplying on this mission. Give us a call when you've completed the assignment and she'll return for the extraction. The pickup point is in the file."

"Sounds great," Clint said as he stood.

"One last thing," Fury said. He put down his work and focused his attention on Clint. "After what happened with Loki in New York, everyone including me just wants to make sure you're ready."

"It's been a year, Director, I'm more than ready," Clint said confidently.

"Make sure everything goes well on this mission and I'll find you something to get the adrenaline pumping," Fury said. His lips curled up, Fury's version of a smile.

Clint chuckled. "You're not going to find anything to get my adrenaline pumping. There isn't anything out there that gets me like that since New York."

"Ten bucks says you're wrong," Fury said. "Jet leaves 0600 tomorrow."

**AVENGERSAVENGERSAVENGERS**

Clint woke the next morning to a soft knocking on his bedroom door. Whoever was on the other side of the door shouldn't have worried about being quiet. Clint hadn't had a roommate for nearly seven months after every person he shared a room with had requested they be moved. The bed on the other side of the room just acted as a place for his to put his dirty clothes until he got tired of looking at them and went to the laundry room. It wasn't death threats but it still stung. Clint wiped the sleep from his eyes and pulled himself up into a sitting position. The person knocked slightly louder. Clint rolled his eyes and padded over to the door. He opened it and realized, too late of course, that he wasn't wearing a shirt.

Natasha realized it too and gave him a quick smile. "Did I wake you?"

Clint checked his watch to make sure he hadn't slept through his alarm. "I wasn't even going to get up until five thirty."

"God you're lazy," she said. She pushed past him into his room and flicked on the light switch.

Clint blinked to adjust to the change in light and closed the door. "It's three in the morning, Nat. What are you doing here?"

"Can't I visit a friend?" Natasha asked.

"Not at three in the morning you can't," Clint said. He dug through his dresser drawer and pulled on a shirt. It was a Harvard t-shirt which was absolutely ridiculous since he'd never even seen the campus. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she said. "I was up, preparing for the mission, and I thought I'd drop by and say hello. I figured you'd be up preparing too."

"I did my preparing last night. I always do my preparing at night. You know that," Clint said. He frowned, "Come to think of it. You do all your mission preparation at night too."

"Alright, you got me. I wanted to talk," Natasha said.

"Typical woman," Clint gave her a warm smile. "So something is wrong?"

"Not really. I just, don't get angry with me, but I just wanted to know if you're sure you're ready," she said.

He rolled his eyes. "Natasha, please don't start this."

"I told you not to get angry with me," she said.

Clint crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not getting angry with you. I'm tired of people asking if I'm okay or looking at me like I'm next to jump on the crazy train. It was a year ago. Yes, bad things happened but it's not the first time and it won't be the last. I didn't freak out like this over Budapest."

"You freaked out exactly like this over Budapest," Natasha said pointedly.

Clint laughed. "Alright I'll give you that, but I'm a guy. We're supposed to be overprotective."

"Don't pull your sexist bullshit on me," Natasha glared at him.

Clint sighed and dropped his arms to his side. "Nat, I am so ready for this – if I wait any longer I'm going to go crazy for real. Don't think I haven't noticed you trying to keep me here. We train constantly. I'm in the best shape of my life and I don't use it for anything."

"I'm worried about you," she said.

Clint picked up the file and pulled out the picture. "You're worried I'll have trouble with this guy? I'm almost insulted. This mission will be like shooting fish in a barrel."

She laughed as he mimicked doing that very thing but once she sobered she said simply, "Clint, I couldn't go through that again."

"How many times do you think I'm going to be mind controlled?" Clint asked. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course," Natasha replied instantly. "It's the rest of the world I don't trust."

Clint put his hand on Natasha's shoulder and leaned closer but after a moment pulled back. "You knew I'd be asleep."

Natasha grinned. "How could I resist pulling you out of bed shirtless?"

Clint shook his head. "I'm going back to bed. Join me?"

Natasha hesitated and then nodded. "Just sleeping."

Clint snorted. "I have a mission in three hours."

Natasha grinned again and crawled in next to him. When Clint woke up two and a half hours later she was already gone and the door was locked behind her. Clint rolled out of bed for a second time that morning and got dressed.

He met Natasha in the hangar. She was in the midst of a preflight check of her plane. He glanced around to see who else was there. He spotted one guy doing a preflight check across the hangar and a woman too exhausted to notice that half of her up-do had fallen out. He'd never managed to sneak up on Natasha so he wasn't particularly surprised to hear her say, "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty."

"One day it would be nice to wake up to you still there," Clint said. The words came out like they always did.

"If you woke up before me I'd still be there," Natasha replied. It was the same words she told him every time they had this discussion. Once upon a time Clint had made it a point to argue the subject. Now he chose to pick his battles. "Sleep well?"

"Best sleep I've had in a long time," Clint replied. "You?"

"You hog the bed," she replied. That was the end of the conversation. "I'm just about done here. We should be able to leave shortly."

"Guess that means I won't be able to squeeze in a bowl of Mini Wheats," Clint said.

Natasha gave him a look over her shoulder. "I told you to get up earlier."

Clint showed her the apple in his hand. "It's okay. I've got it covered."

"You're eating an apple? I thought you sustained yourself on Cheetos and beer," Natasha replied.

"Please," Clint said, rolling his eyes. "The diet SHIELD makes their agents maintain includes neither of those items."

"So your sock drawer does not contain a hidden compartment filled with those items as well as a scary assortment of candy bars?" Natasha asked.

Clint grinned. "I didn't say that."

Natasha turned around and put her hands on her hips. "All done."

Clint pulled another apple out of his bag. "I brought one for you too."

Natasha grinned wickedly. "No thanks, I had a bowl of Mini Wheats this morning."

It didn't take them long to get onto the jet and situate themselves. The jets themselves were made for quick takeoffs. Clint took a seat in the back and buckled himself in while Natasha pulled on the headset and got into the pilot's seat. Clint pulled out the assignment file. Natasha asked, "Why did you bring that?"

"I may not have prepared for this mission as thoroughly as I let on this morning," he replied.

Clint could almost hear Natasha rolling her eyes as she sent the jet down the runway and took off. They barely spoke in the air and after only a few hours Natasha touched down just outside of Paris.

Finding criminals was difficult, depending on the criminal. The more of a big wig they were the harder they were to find. When you make most if not all of your money the illegal way you tend to spend the rest of your time trying to go unnoticed. Criminals didn't typically have itineraries to follow or websites to give their location. Politicians, on the other hand, made it very easy to find them. Politicians lived to be in the spotlight. Finding a politician was as easy as pulling the name of the hotel he was speaking at and then playing nice to the right people. After that it was just the matter of finding a perch to shoot from and waiting for the target to move near a window. One shot, one kill, and then you could go. Back when Clint had started taking hits to make ends meet he'd loved jobs like this. They were easy money. Window shots were how most politicians got killed, anyways. This guy was going to be more work than he was worth.

"Who asks for a hotel room with no windows?" Clint asked. And more importantly, why did he ask for a room that way this time? After talking to the girl working the counter of the hotel Clint had learned several very interesting things about his target, Francois Gautier. First, Mr. Gautier stayed at this hotel every time he was in Paris and second, he'd never requested a room without a window before. "Someone who's afraid of a sniper, that's who."

Clint was a marksman first and an assassin second but that didn't mean he couldn't kill up close. SHIELD had taken one look at his shooting skills and dropped him in close combat classes. Natasha had taught him everything that SHIELD hadn't and now he was probably the best assassin in the world. He packed up the sniper rifle and put it in a locker at the train station. Clint swiped one of the keys off of a maid's cart and used it to sneak into the politician's hotel room. For a politician, Francois Gautier wasn't quite as cleanly as Clint might have guessed. The suit he'd worn yesterday was still lying crumpled on the floor next to the bed and his bags were on the bed instead of in the closet. He checked the bathroom where the toothbrush had been left on the counter and the shampoo container remained uncapped. "Looks like my room."

Unfortunately, there aren't a whole lot of places to hide in a hotel room. Hide in the bathroom and you might get spotted when someone walks in to do their business. Hide in the closet and you're a sitting duck when they hang up their coat. No, about the only place Clint was going to remain safe was under Gautier's bed. Good thing Clint was on the leaner side. He holstered his gun and dropped to the floor. With a small amount of wiggling Clint wrestled himself under the bed. Facing up was ridiculously uncomfortable so Clint attempted to roll over. In doing this his leg smacked into one of the bed legs. To top it off, not only did his foot now ache like nobody's business but a paper from on the bed slid off. "Fuck me."

He slid over to the side of the bed and grabbed the paper, ready to throw it back up and hope he could get Gautier before he noticed anything wrong. His well-trained eyes, however, spotted something that made him pause. The paper had a SHIELD stamp. Clint picked up his head and nearly cracked his skull on the bed frame. With more cursing than an army man Clint wrestled himself back out from under the bed. He listened at the door for a moment but didn't hear anything. Returning to the bed and the bag on top of it Clint looked at a stack of papers. The paper in his hand was just one of many. "What were you into, Gautier?"

He was into a lot.

Clint dug through papers and came up with balance sheets, emails, mission reports –some of which were Clint's own missions- and more. Reading the emails was like something out of a bad spy movie, "Dear Francois Gautier, Your request for more information on our American Intelligence friends has been met with serious disapproval. When we dealt originally we made it clear that any exchange would be done at our discretion. The blackmail threat we received in our last communication will not be tolerated. If the records are not destroyed the Council will be forced to take measures against you."

"Nothing like giving a man the heads up he's got an assassin after him," A voice said.

Clint spun around and reached for his gun. He didn't get the chance to pull it as Francois Gautier himself stood with his own gun aimed at Clint's head. Smart man, this Gautier, as a chest shot would have only bruised Clint through his bulletproof vest. Clint looked behind the man but saw no one else. "Are we alone?"

Gautier nodded. "I have two men outside the door but in here, yes we're alone."

"What is this?" Clint asked and motioned at the pile of papers.

"Evidence," Gautier replied. "Let me tell you something. Secrets aren't worth a damn if you can't produce them when _you_ want to produce them."

"And you couldn't produce the secrets fast enough?" Clint asked. Usually, Clint never even spoke to the target. There had been times, of course, but for the most part Clint was far away when the target hit the ground. Natasha, however, did this all the time. Keep them talking, she'd say, because people love to talk.

Gautier replied swiftly. "I was doing fine. I was probably the biggest name in intelligence in the Eastern Hemisphere. Then New York happened and suddenly the information just stops."

"The information from SHIELD," Clint supplied.

"The information from SHIELD," Gautier repeated. "Maybe someone was on to them. Maybe they were just scared that you and that merry band of misfits would take them down just like you did Loki. I don't know and honestly, I don't care. We had a deal and then the Council had to screw that up."

Clint kept a wary eye on the gun as he desperately tried to think of a way out of this. "You knew I'd be coming?"

"Well, I didn't know that you specifically would be coming but I knew they were sending someone to kill me. It is flattering though. Whenever you rate a visit from the infamous Hawkeye, well, at least they figured I'd be a challenge," Gautier said. Clint wasn't sure whether to be flattered as well or disgusted. "I'm sure they just wanted to be absolutely certain I wasn't going to go anywhere with this knowledge."

Clint stopped for a moment. What would Natasha do? Clint observed Gautier. He wasn't the gun wielding type. He'd probably borrowed this piece off of one of his bodyguards at the door or had someone pick him up one. Most people got the basic principle of a gun, point and shoot. Aiming at someone who was two meters away at best was not a particularly hard shot. Only consistent practice with a gun was going to teach you the little things though. One of those little things was that aiming a gun at someone for any length of time made your arms hurt and if you took your eyes off a target you'd best be sure the target is dead. Clint looked over his shoulder again and frowned. "I thought you said we were alone."

Gautier frowned as well and looked over his shoulder. Clint used the opportunity of distraction and slammed down hard on Gautier's wrist to make him drop the gun. He slammed his elbow into the man's chest, aiming for the painful spot where the rib cage met and you lost your breath. Gautier gasped for air and dropped to his knees. Clint pulled a knife out of the sheath on his leg and stabbed Gautier once in the stomach. The man gasped again, this time from pain, and dropped backwards the rest of the way to the floor. "You're good."

"That's what they keep telling me," Clint replied.

Gautier grabbed onto Clint's shirt. "Are you going to tell people?"

Clint looked up at the bed where the pile of papers, incriminating evidence, lay just as he'd left them. "Yeah, I'm going to tell people."

Gautier smiled and then laughed. "Good. I won then."

Clint pulled Gautier's hand off of his shirt. "I don't know if I'd call this winning."

"Hawkeye," Gautier rasped. "There were more."

"More what?" Clint asked.

"More people SHIELD sold secrets to," Gautier said. He laughed again. "I won."

Clint watched the man's eyes lose their spark and then he stopped breathing. He checked Gautier's pulse but found nothing. The door opened and the two bodyguards walked in. "Monsieur Gautier, ca – Tiens! Qui est tu?"

"I don't speak French buddy," Clint replied. Clint slit his throat with the knife and then stabbed him in the heart before doing the same to the second bodyguard. Clint pulled them into the bedroom, closed the door, and then pushed the first bodyguard into the closet. Clint caught his breath, bodyguards are typically very heavy, and while doing so made out a faint beeping noise coming from the top shelf of the closet. Clint frowned and pulled down what appeared to be a shoe box but upon opening it recognized the complicated mechanics of a bomb. "Shit!"

Clint threw the box on top of the bodyguard's body and slammed shut the closet door. He flew out the hotel room and barely made it to the top of the stairs when the explosion roared behind him and the blast knocked him down the first flight of stairs.

**AVENGERSAVENGERSAVENGERS**

**AN: Well, that's that then. I love to hear what you thought. What's good? What's bad? What you'd like to see more of? What you'd never like to see again? Tell me in the review box. Watch out for the second chapter coming next week!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I was glad to see some interest in the last chapter. I hope this chapter goes over just as well.**

**THANK YOU TO MY REVIEWER:**

**TheNaggingCube – Not exactly. The Avengers are about to have their hands full.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Avengers. I wish I did. I don't though.**

**AVENGERSAVENGERSAVENGERS**

"In a time of universal deceit – telling the truth is a revolutionary act." –George Orwell

**AVENGERSAVENGERSAVENGERS**

Clint pulled himself to his feet feeling sore and beaten. Falling down a flight of stairs could do that to a guy. He took an inventory of injuries but the worst he could find was a pretty painful bump just below his hairline that he'd gotten when his head hit the floor. Beyond that there were a couple of bruises scattered around his body and his ears were still ringing from the blast. He couldn't have been out for long since even the first responders had yet to show up. Clint shook himself of the last of his disorientation so he could leave. Sticking around any longer would only cause problems. It wasn't a huge jump to see the guy with a bow and arrows, two guns, and a bloody knife on him, look at the charred remains of a hotel room and start putting two and two together. Clint looked like a mercenary and if he didn't get out of here soon the cops would think the same thing.

Clint flew down the stairs at lightning speed. Running from a crime scene only makes you look guilty but in Clint's case, he was safer the farther he got from the explosion. He pulled his SHIELD issued cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Natasha. "Hey, meet me at the rendezvous point."

"You're supposed to call after you get there," Natasha said.

"I need out of the area fast," Clint said. "Trust me. I will get rid of all tails before I show up just meet me there."

"Is something wrong?" Natasha asked.

Clint thought back to what he'd learned about his and Natasha's employers. "Yeah, I think so. I'll tell you when we meet up though."

"See you soon," Natasha said. "Stay safe."

"Right back at you," he said and then hung up.

Clint tried to look as inconspicuous as he could while wearing an arsenal and fleeing the scene of a crime. There was definitely something to be said about long-distance kills. It's much easier to get away when you're three blocks away already. Clint ambled around the block a few times before heading to the train station. No tails, no one following him, no one even gave him a dirty look. Clint grabbed the sniper rifle, got on the train, and took off for the rendezvous point. He had a headache from the adrenaline rush and the bump on his head. Clint leaned back into the chair and used the opportunity to take a few deep breaths. If Clint was honest with himself he knew the reason he was so upset was the very simple fact that the explosion had brought him back to New York. He'd be a liar if he said that the events that had taken place one year ago didn't affect him. They affected all of them. Natasha had taken to coming to his room to sleep out the nightmares. Clint dreamed that Natasha didn't win the fight on the Helicarrier and he hurt her. Clint dreamed that they lost against Loki and Earth was destroyed. Clint had horrible dreams.

"Tu voudrais un oreiller?" An attendant came up and asked.

Clint let out a ragged breath before replying. "I don't, um, je ne comprends pas le français."

"American?" The attendant asked with a smile. Her French accent was faint.

Clint sighed and returned the smile. "How'd you guess?"

"In Europe you just have to throw a stone to hit another country. A person needs to speak many languages here. In America, you have to travel very far to meet another nation," The attendant replied. "Americans don't usually know another language."

"Well I am American but I know several other languages. French just isn't one of them," Clint supplied.

She laughed and nodded. "Then I am impressed. Would you like a pillow, sir?"

Clint shook his head, "No thank you. I won't be on the train long enough for that."

"Very well," she replied.

Clint mulled over what Francois Gautier had said. None of it, not the conversation, not the emails, not the mission reports, none of it mattered. All of the information was gone, destroyed along with the bodies and the hotel room it all was in. Clint couldn't prove anything. That was a depressing thought. Clint had gone head to head against the Council once before for Natasha and that had nearly got both of them a death sentence. "I need to stop reminiscing."

The rendezvous spot was in the secluded field of an abandoned farm. The nearest neighbor was miles away which made it a perfect spot for extraction. The jet was already there, ready and waiting. Clint got on board and took the co-pilot's seat next to Natasha. She frowned at him. "I don't need a co-pilot."

"I trust you," Clint replied. "But I don't want to have to explain this to you from the back of the jet."

Natasha nodded and the jet took off. "What's this all about Clint?"

"I don't know how much I should say," Clint said.

"What kind of statement is that?" Natasha asked.

Clint shrugged with one shoulder. "This is the kind of information that could get a person killed. I don't want that person to be you."

Natasha glared at him only as long as she could take her eyes off the controls. "So it's better if you die for it?"

"That's not what I said, Nat," Clint replied. "A bomb exploded Gautier's hotel room."

"What? Clint, come on. I know you were itching for action but could you start out slower. Did you have to blow him to kingdom come?" Natasha demanded.

"Cool your jets, Nat," Clint said. "I didn't blow him up. The bomb was already there and had to be there before I even got into the room."

"Someone else was after him?" she asked.

"I don't know. I guess so. Look, the point is that I was in that room and I found some papers. There were emails and balance sheets and mission reports and they were all from SHIELD. I mean, damn Nat, there were mission reports from some of our missions," he said.

Natasha's eyes widened. "What are you saying?"

"SHIELD was selling secrets. That's what Gautier said before I killed him," Clint said.

Natasha frowned. "I thought you said you didn't blow him up."

"I didn't. I'd already killed him when the bomb went off," Clint said.

Natasha chewed on her bottom lip in thought. "Do you think Gautier was telling the truth?"

"He knew he was dying and all he wanted at the end was for me to tell people," Clint said. "I don't know why he would lie."

"I don't know, because he's a corrupt politician. Maybe he lied because he's a criminal. Maybe he lied because he wanted to go out winning. Hell, politicians get paid to smile. Maybe all he knew how to do was lie," she said. She gave him a sideways look out of the corner of her eye. "Are you going to tell anyone?"

"Of course!" Clint exclaimed. "Why would I keep something like this a secret?"

"Why? Oh, I don't know," she replied sarcastically. "Maybe because, as you said earlier, this is the kind of information that people die over."

Clint couldn't believe what he was hearing. "That doesn't mean I can just keep it to myself. The information in those papers, that could endanger the lives of a lot of people."

"It didn't endanger us," Natasha reasoned. "You said it yourself. All that information on our missions and no one used it against us. You can't even be sure that any of what Gautier said was true."

"You didn't read the emails," Clint said shaking his head. "It sounded pretty truthful to me."

"Can I see them?" Natasha asked.

"What?" Clint asked.

"The emails," Natasha said. "I trust you but I want to see them."

Clint looked away guilty. "I don't have them. They were caught in the explosion."

"You don't have any evidence," Natasha said. She cursed as loud and as foul as she knew how. "Clint, honestly, what do you think you're going to do with this?"

"Nat, I know you don't always agree with me on everything but I expected you to back me up on this," he said.

Natasha let out a heavy breath. "If anyone knows what it's like to have the people that are supposed to help you turn on you it's me. I went through this once with the Black Widow program."

"Are you telling me you regret leaving and fighting?" Clint asked. The thought of her feeling that way hurt him at a level only she could hurt him at.

"No," Natasha said immediately. "I just think you need to spend some time on this."

"I'm not scared, Nat," Clint snapped.

"I know," Natasha replied softly. "But I am. Promise me you'll think about sitting on this for a while?"

"I'm not going to wait," Clint said.

"Just promise me you'll think about it," Natasha said. "We have a long flight home. Just think about it."

"Fine," he said. "I'll _think_ about it, and only because it's you who asked."

Clint did think about it. He considered for one millisecond of a moment about keeping the information he'd found in Gautier's hotel room quiet. Why endanger himself, Natasha, and perhaps even the other Avengers with information that he'd yet to see thus far in action? Why put them all in danger on the mere chance that it could cause someone trouble? But the truth was clearly visible. Someone in the Council was endangering the lives of his fellow agents. Clint wouldn't turn his back on them. He'd already cost SHIELD so many lives when he was being used by Loki. He wished that he could look at this the same way as Natasha and put them over the others. That would make what he was doing so much easier. Instead he had to decide between his duty to the innocents everywhere or his duty to his partner. Never let it be said that the choice wasn't hard for him.

Natasha set the jet down on the runway and silently started shutting systems down when they came to a halt. Clint swallowed hard. She was waiting for him to say something and that spoke volumes. Natasha's skills were tied directly into how well she could manipulate you. The most potent way of doing that was through her words. Staying quiet, assassin or not, was not something that came naturally to the redhead. Clint spoke, "I'm going to tell them."

Natasha looked like she was holding herself back. She probably wanted to hit him. "God, you have no sense do you?"

"Sorry. I'm a country boy," Clint said with a guilt-ridden smile. "Lots of brawn but not a lot of brains."

"Don't act like you're stupid. We both know that you've got a genius IQ. Maybe you're not as bright as Stark or Banner but you are no idiot," Natasha snapped at him. "This, however, is a very stupid mistake."

"I'm going to request a meeting with the Council," Clint said.

Natasha nodded. "You never do anything halfway."

"I want you to stay away," Clint said finally. He knew she'd blow up at this.

She did. "You're taking this too far. I don't agree with what you are doing and if I was in your position we wouldn't even be having this conversation. If you're going to go through with it then I'm helping you."

"It isn't safe-" Clint started.

"Don't bullshit me with your martyring and your lone wolf load of crap," she snapped at him. "You are not the lone ranger. You don't get to play Maverick when you have a partner."

"I can't lose you, Natasha," Clint said. "I've lost my parents, my brother, and my friend. You're all I have left."

"When you die you're going to lose me anyways," Natasha pushed. "And when you die I'm going to lose you too. Because I didn't have anyone to lose does that somehow make your death easier? Is that how it is?"

"You know it's not like that," Clint said.

"Do I? Because the way I see it, it's okay for you to die but I should have to live with the guilt and the pain every day for the rest of my life," she said. "That's what I see."

"Fuck you," Clint spat at her. She was making this harder on him. He didn't need someone to make it harder on him. Maybe he was being harsh but he didn't know what else to do. "I love you, Nat, and I can't leave this world knowing you died because of a choice I made."

"Love is for children," Natasha replied automatically.

"Well then call me a child," Clint replied. "Maybe it's not the love other people have but I know what I feel. It's called love, Nat, and it makes me hurt when you get hurt."

Clint wanted her so desperately to tell him that she loved him too. He wanted her to admit to herself, to him, to the world, that she had emotions and that the emotion made her weak. In that moment, in the moment before she opened her mouth to say another word, he knew that if she said those words now he'd walk away from it all. He'd walk away from the truth, from the Council, and from SHIELD. He would walk away from the Avengers, from his job, and from danger. He would walk away and he'd take her with him. She hesitated. The truth of the matter was there in her eyes. All she had to do was say it. Finally she opened her mouth, "We're a team. I won't let you die alone."

Clint let out a ragged breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He was fighting a losing battle. Nothing he was going to say was going to make Natasha leave him. It was fitting in a way that they died together. He hung his head and said quietly, "Fine."

When the dynamic duo walked off the jet it was clear to everyone that the air around was two was electrified. From a distance one could see the tense way Natasha watched Clint's back and the near panicked look on his face when someone got to close to Natasha for Clint's liking. There was an air of resignation on the pair's faces as well. They walked with purpose and they walked with dignity. No one in the hangar could quite put their fingers on what the two master assassins looked like as they walked together in the hangar but if either Clint or Natasha had been watching the answer would have been simple. They looked like two people walking to their execution.

**AVENGERSAVENGERSAVENGERS**

Director Fury might have been startled when his two most effective employees stepped into his office but Clint watched his face carefully and the daunting man didn't show it. He simply raised his head to look at the pair and with an arched eyebrow, questioned their presence in his office. "Can I help you two?"

"The assignment you gave me has been completed. I talked with Ops and they agreed on a debrief this Friday," Clint replied.

"You came to my office to tell me that?" Director Fury asked.

Clint looked to Natasha for support and then took a deep breath. "I'd like to request an official meeting with the Council."

"I'd like to take a vacation to Aruba and work on my tan," Fury said drolly. "Guess neither of us will be getting what we wanted."

"I'm an official employee of SHIELD and therefore have the right to request a meeting with any personnel above and below myself," Clint said.

Fury countered, "I'm the official Director of SHIELD and therefore have the right to deny any meeting that any employee requests. You are dismissed, Barton."

"Fury, I will go through any channels I have to for this meeting. It'd be a whole lot easier for everyone if I got to do it through the right ones," Clint said.

"It's _Director_ Fury," he said. He looked over Clint like he was analyzing him. It was an unusual request, Clint knew that. Fury was going to want to know Clint's motive. "Trust me when I say, you don't want to deal with the Council. They are a pain in the ass but it's my job to deal with them. Let me deal with them."

"_Director_ Fury," Clint said making the Director sound as sarcastic as humanly possible. "For one final time I would like to request a meeting with the Council."

Fury paused again and analyzed. Finally he asked, "Are you resigning, Agent Barton?"

"No, sir," Clint said.

Fury's eyes drifted over to Natasha. "Is she resigning?"

"No, sir," Clint said.

Fury's face heated up and Clint could practically see the sparks going behind his eyes. "Is she pregnant?"

Clint had never known Natasha to show any emotion she didn't want to show. The cough that sounded unexpectedly behind him made him smile. "No, sir."

"Are you going to tell me what this is about?" Fury asked.

"No," Clint replied. There was a long, long pause before Clint added finally, "Sir."

Fury did another long pause. He picked up the phone and cradled it in his hand. "Should I set it up for after the debrief?"

Clint knew Fury was trying to stall but the archer was going to have none of that. "No. I'd like it as soon as possible. Today if you can make it happen."

"The Council is not going to take kindly to having to drop their business at a moment's notice to meet with an assassin," Fury said. Clint noticed he wasn't pulling punches.

"Just tell them it's concerning information discovered in the midst of the Gautier assignment," Clint said, hoping that would draw their attention enough to earn him a meeting.

Fury frowned. "That sounds like something I should be aware of. What kind of information?"

"Classified," Clint said. He barely managed to keep the smirk of his face. Even in the impending hours of his doom Clint was still pushing Fury's buttons. Some things never change.

Fury snarled at him. "I'm the Director of SHIELD. There is no classified for me."

"Then once I'm done sharing it with the Council I'm sure they'll be happy to share it with you," Clint replied.

Fury looked at Natasha with a piercing glare. "You've stayed pretty silent throughout all this. What's your view on the matter?"

If Fury was asking these kinds of questions he had to be suspicious. Of course, Clint was asking for a meeting with a group of people that even the garbage men knew didn't like Clint. Natasha's response was slow and precise. "We need a meeting with the Council, sir."

Fury sighed deeply. "Then I'd best get you a meeting. You're dismissed."

"Sir, I-" Clint started.

"You're dismissed, Barton," Fury said. "As are you, Romanoff."

"Yes, sir," Romanoff said and then they left.

Two hours later and the pair had the meeting they had asked of Fury. He was standing outside the room waiting for them and the surprise was, for once, very clear on his face. "Clint, what have you gotten into?"

"Are we on a first name basis now, Nick?" Clint asked. He was feeling brave. He imagined it was a common feeling for people this close to death.

"I don't know what you found in Paris but it's got the Council tripping over themselves just to have this meeting. A world conference on something more important than you was postponed for this meeting," Fury said quickly. He stood between Clint and the door. "Before you walk into that room I want you to think very hard. Think hard about what your priorities are."

"Right now, my priorities are to walk into that room," Clint replied.

Fury nodded once. "I hope to God you know what you're doing."

"He doesn't," Natasha said.

Fury looked from Clint to Natasha and back to Clint. "Somehow, I don't think I'm going to be able to stop you anyways."

Fury stepped aside. Without hesitation Clint stepped inside the room and Natasha soon followed suit.

The room was dark. The only light in the room emanated from the twelve barely lit screens. Clint's eyes moved from one screen to another. About half of the screens were filled with a male shaped silhouette and the other half were filled with a female one. Never let it be said that SHIELD wasn't equal opportunity. A female shaped silhouette on the right spoke first. "Greetings Agent Barton and Agent Romanoff. Director Fury said you had information regarding the hit on Francois Gautier."

"That's true. But first, if you'll indulge me, I have a question," Clint said.

"A question? What question?" A male silhouette asked.

"When you sent someone to put the bomb in Gautier's hotel room did you intend for it to kill me as well or would that have just been a pleasant bonus for you?" Clint asked.

Cliché as the saying may be, one could have heard a pin drop in the room. Another male silhouette snapped at him. "These are some very dangerous accusations you're making."

"Dangerous for you," Natasha said from behind him. It made Clint feel stronger, like what he was doing was right. He hadn't quite realized how unsure he was about all of this up to this point.

"You have been a thorn in our side since the beginning of your time here. This is the last straw. We will not be slandered by a…a…a glorified murderer," One of the women said. Clint nearly laughed as she attempted to call him names. How easy for her to point fingers but let it not be forgotten that someone had to give him names. Clint didn't just shoot anyone.

"He is no more a murderer than you," Natasha said. That still made Clint a murderer but as a trained sniper and a government assassin he knew as much.

"You have proof then?" A man laughed.

And there it was the hole in Clint's plan. Natasha didn't speak. She had pointed this flaw out to him as well. Clint wouldn't let it dissuade him, however. "No. You're right. The evidence was destroyed, but before Gautier died he told me that he wasn't the only one. I can find the other people you sold secrets to. I can find them and they'll tell the world everything they know."

"You have no evidence. You have nothing but the ramblings of a desperate dying man and you are nothing but a rebellious ungrateful agent that doesn't officially exist," Another man said. "We are not fooled into thinking you have anything on us."

"Ungrateful? You have made my life miserable at every turn!" Clint exclaimed. Nothing was ever easy with the Council.

"Is that so? We accepted you instead of continuing with an assassination protocol, we accepted Agent Romanoff instead of having you complete the assassination protocol, we allowed you to work with the Avengers, and we did not punish you for your stint with the mass murderer Loki," A woman said. "I think we have been quite generous."

"Being brainwashed by Loki was not my fault and as for those other things, Fury made that happen. Not you," Clint said.

"What the Council does to continue SHIELD's good work is no concern of an assassin," The only woman on the left said. "If you cease your petty attack now we will make the punishment swift and we will limit to you, Agent Barton, and you alone."

Natasha had to grab his shoulder because he tensed like he would attack. That would be ridiculous of course, the Council wasn't actually there, but Clint's tendency to fight came from instinct and right now his instincts were screaming at him to hit something. "I'm going to the T.V. stations and anyone else that will listen to me. Maybe you're right and maybe they don't believe me right away but the moment I tell them what I know someone somewhere will start looking into it. Someone will find the truth."

"Agent Barton, let me remind you that threating the Council is a very quick way to earn yourself a position of SHIELD's threat list," One man said.

Clint felt Natasha tense behind him. This threat, the threat of turning SHIELD on him, had been used once before. When Clint had brought Natasha in they'd threatened him and tried to get him to kill Natasha. Hearing him threatened again was probably bringing back some bad memories for her. It was certainly bringing back some bad memories for him. Clint sucked in a breath and replied in typically Clint Barton fashion, "Fuck you."

"We will not be spoken to in that manner-"A woman started.

"I think he just did," Natasha said. She and Clint exited the meeting room.

Fury was still waiting for them outside. He checked his watch once and then said, "That was over pretty quickly. How'd it go?"

"All SHIELD personnel, Agent Barton and Agent Romanoff are currently considered hostile and dangerous. Please detain them for further questioning. Repeat, Agent Barton and Agent Romanoff are considered hostile and dangerous," The voice over the P.A. system echoed in the halls.

Clint snorted. "Let's just say it didn't go well."

Fury snorted. "I warned you."

Natasha pulled her gun and aimed it at Fury. "Don't take this personally."

Fury held his hands up in surrender. "I'm not going to stop the two of you from running. "

"You're not?" Clint asked.

"Of course not. That would make things for the Council too easy. No, I'm going to let you hit me over the head and steal my pass card," Fury said.

Natasha frowned. "You're going to what?"

"Don't waste my time making me repeat myself, Agent Romanoff. Here's my card," Fury handed Clint a plain looking pass card. "Now I'm going to turn around and you're going to hit me over the head with that gun of yours. Try to aim for unconscious but not dead."

"How long do you want to be unconscious?" Natasha asked.

"Minutes, preferably, but I can handle a couple hours if you misjudge the force," Fury said.

Fury turned around and waited for the hit that would put him down long enough for Clint and Natasha to escape. Clint looked down at his gun and then up, uneasily, at the back of the Director's head. "This doesn't feel right."

Natasha scoffed and brought the butt of the gun down on Fury's head. He dropped to the ground immediately. She knelt down to check his pulse. "He's fine. The pulse is still strong."

Clint smiled. "You know, I hate to say it at a time like this but…I'm kind of enjoying this moment."

Natasha grinned as well. "I actually got to hit him. I'm on cloud nine."

Clint gripped the pass card tighter in his hand. "We should be going."

Natasha nodded. "Where do we go?"

Clint knelt down as well and dug through Fury's pockets until he found his phone. "I'm going to call the Avengers. We can't do this on our own, obviously. They're the only people I know with enough pull to rival the Council."

"We'll be putting them in danger by bringing them in," Natasha said.

"I don't know what else to do, Nat," Clint replied.

"Then call them," Nat said.

Clint dialed the first number he found for an Avenger. On the third ring they picked up, "Hello?"

"Dr. Banner? My name is Clint Barton? Remember me?" Clint asked.

Bruce gave a soft chuckle that sounded only slightly sarcastic. "How could I forget?"

That sounded a lot more sarcastic.

**AVENGERSAVENGERSAVENGERS**

**AN: So, this chapter was actually supposed to be about double this size. I underestimated the amount of words it was going to take to tell this part of the story. I decided to cut the chapter in half instead of posting an 8000 word chapter. I'm aiming to keep the chapters in the 3000 – 5000 range but this is actually the longest chapter I've ever written so maybe the chapters might be on the larger end of that range. I didn't get a whole lot of feedback on the last chapter but I'd really like to know what people think. Please review! It helps me know what I'm doing wrong and what I'm doing right.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Another early chapter, don't get used to it people. Some of you may have noticed that I changed up the summary of my story. It's proved to be more effective in bringing in readers but it's still not quite as effective as I'd like. If any of you have any ideas as to what might draw in the masses, let me know. I won't just stop writing this story because no matter how many readers I have it's just not fair to let a story drop. That much I can promise you. Anyways, on to the story…**

**THANK YOU TO MY REVIEWERS:**

**Guest 1 of 2: Thank you very much. I'm aiming for once a week updates although this chapter went up a bit sooner than that. **

**Shila1378 – Well, I'm pretty sure the Council deserves it. Hope you're enjoying the story.**

**Guest 2 of 2: Wow. I really wasn't expecting such a long review. The lack of reviews has been a little demoralizing so I appreciate your encouragement. I love hearing good things about characters because those are my favorite. FanFiction basically runs on people's enjoyment of characters so I take that as a really big compliment. As for action and suspense, while the story may be a little slow to start on those things I assure you they come into big play soon. Thank you again.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Avengers. I wish I did. I don't though.**

**AVENGERSAVENGERSAVENGERS**

"The first reaction to truth is hatred." –Tertullian

**AVENGERSAVENGERSAVENGERS**

Clint dialed the first number he found for an Avenger. On the third ring they picked up, "Hello?"

"Dr. Banner? My name is Clint Barton? Remember me?" Clint asked.

Bruce gave a soft chuckle that sounded only slightly sarcastic. "How could I forget?"

That sounded a lot more sarcastic.

"I got your number from Director Fury," Clint said, failing to mention that he'd pulled the phone from the Director's unconscious body. "Agent Romanoff is here with me."

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Bruce asked.

Clint wasn't sure how to tell him the events that had led to this moment. "Do you know what the Council is?"

"In relation to SHIELD? They're the people that nearly bombed New York," Bruce said.

Clint nodded and then realized that Bruce couldn't see him. "Exactly. Natasha and I have kind of climbed our way to the top of the Council's shit list."

"Not to sound insolent but I'm not quite sure what you think I'm going to be able to do about that," Bruce replied. Clint and Natasha booked it down the hall, pausing only to take cover and then return fire. "Were those gunshots?"

"We're fighting our way out of SHIELD headquarters," Clint said in explanation.

"Hold on," Bruce said. "I'm going to link Tony in to this call."

They waited a beat before Tony's voice joined the conversation. "Tony Stark here."

"Tony, its Bruce…and Agent Barton and Agent Romanoff. The SHIELD spies from New York," Bruce said.

"I remember them," Tony said. "Is this a warning that there are more aliens coming because I've got to tell you – I'm in the middle of a delicious tuna fish sandwich and it may just have to wait."

"They need our help," Bruce said, like listening to Tony ramble like this was normal. Maybe for Bruce it was.

"SHIELD needs the help of little ole me?" Tony asked. "I'm flattered."

"Not SHIELD," Clint replied. He fired twice in the direction of gunfire. He didn't want to hit anyone. He'd killed enough SHIELD agents during the Helicarrier attack. He just needed them to stay back long enough for Clint and Natasha to get help. "We're in trouble and we need help getting out."

Tony laughed. "Are you serious?"

"Like a heart attack," Clint said. "We've already knocked Director Fury out and now we're in the midst of a firefight in the tech hall."

"You knocked out old One-Eye? Now this is a cause I'd be willing to leave a tuna fish sandwich for," Tony said. "What do you need me to do?"

"We need help," Clint said. Natasha fired bullet after bullet before finally running out and reloading.

"What'd you do to earn this kind of treatment?" Bruce asked.

"The Council has been selling SHIELD secrets. We threatened to expose them," Clint said. The way he phrased that earned him a cold glare from Natasha. He cleared his throat and rephrased. "Well, _I_ threatened to expose them and Natasha was standing next to me for support."

"I'll be there in a jiffy," Tony said. Clint could hear the Iron Man suit taking off and then the line went dead.

"Dr. Banner, are you still there?" Clint asked.

"Yes I am, sorry I wasn't saying anything. You see, I've found that when Tony talks to you he isn't really looking for conversation. He just wants an audience and-" Bruce started.

Clint interrupted. "It's fine. Call the others."

"The other Avengers?" Bruce asked.

"Yes. Call them and let them know we're going to need help. A lot of help," Clint said.

"Do you think this situation calls for the Avengers?" Bruce asked.

"No one, not even Director Fury, knows the identities of the twelve Council members but what I do know is that the Council is made up of some of the most influential people in the world. I'm betting that the only people who even could go up against them would be the Avengers," Clint said.

Bruce sighed over the connection. "I knew I should have moved to India."

"Thank you, Dr. Banner," Clint said and then they hung up.

"Well?" Natasha asked.

"Stark's coming-"

"Great," Natasha interrupted drolly.

"And Bruce is calling the rest of the Avengers," Clint finished without responding to Natasha's comment. "We just have to hold out long enough for Stark to get here."

"We could get out of here without help," Natasha said.

"Probably," Clint said in agreement. "But not without killing some of our fellow agents."

Bullets pinged above their heads. Natasha didn't even glance up. "They sure seem intent on killing you."

"They trust the Council right now and the Council says we're hostile and dangerous," Clint said. That's when the ceiling dropped on them. In retrospect, Clint knew Tony was coming and should have taken some form of cover but in his defense, who dropped in through the ceiling? Large chucks of plaster fell in the hall and all over the two assassins. Tony's arm came up and the glowing blue light intensified. Clint yelled, "Wait!"

"What now?" Tony's voice managed to sound whiny even through the mask.

"You're about to shoot at SHIELD agents," Clint said.

Natasha glared at him. "We're not fleeing because we can't handle a couple badges in suits. Those are innocent people and we don't want any more people hurt than necessary."

"Since when did you two turn into the peaceful sort?" Tony asked.

"Stark…" Clint trailed off.

Tony dropped his arm. The firefight had ceased the moment Tony had dropped in. No one expected Iron Man to show up. With Tony no longer aiming at the herd of SHIELD agents on the other side of the hall someone decided to get brave and a single bullet pinged off the Iron Man suit. Tony turned and fired a canister no bigger than a can of pop into the middle of the group. It erupted in white smoke. "Choke on that for a while."

"What did you shoot them with?" Clint asked.

"Tear gas," Tony replied curtly. "SHIELD will have a couple of crybabies on their hands but no one will be hurt long term."

Tony took each of them by the hand and then shot out of the same hole he'd dropped in by.

**AVENGERSAVENGERSAVENGERS**

Tony set them down gently on the roof of Stark Tower. A machine apparently built into the floor of the roof itself pulled the pieces of the Iron Man suit off as Tony walked until all that remained was Tony Stark dressed in jeans and an AC/DC t-shirt. Natasha watched him with arms crossed over her chest and a look of skepticism. "Can you not even get undressed without robotic help?"

"Do you wear anything but band shirts?" Clint asked.

"No and no," Tony said. He frowned. "Well, maybe yes on both. That's not really important right now is it?"

Clint looked out over the New York City landscape. He wasn't sure what he was looking for. "Is this place really safe? I mean, your name is actually on the side of the building."

"There aren't a whole lot of people that are going to attack a billionaire," Tony said.

"SHIELD might be willing to do just that," Natasha said.

"So?" Tony asked. He led them into the house where Bruce was sitting on the couch on the phone.

"So, SHIELD has an army," Clint said.

"We have a Hulk," Tony said with a laugh. The expression on his face froze and transformed into one of confusion. "Whoa, I just had this weird déjà vu moment."

"Thanks, Captain. I hope we'll see you soon," Bruce finished up his conversation. He hung up the phone and put it into his back pocket. "That was Captain Rogers. He got a flight with one of his soldier buddies. Should be here within the hour."

"The Captain has soldier buddies?" Clint asked.

Tony shrugged. "I'm impressed he knows how to use a phone."

"Did anyone get ahold of Thor?" Natasha asked.

"The doctor called me first, Lady Natasha," Thor said as he walked into the room.

"I see you haven't gotten rid of the cape," Tony said with a smile.

Thor looked behind him to where the cape hung. "It is a symbol of the royal blood, Tony Stark."

"Of course it is," Tony replied.

"What do your royals wear to symbolize who they are?" Thor asked.

Tony was pouring himself a drink when he heard Thor's question and then he smiled. "AC/DC t-shirts."

Thor simply frowned but the joke made Clint laugh and even Bruce and Natasha smiled. The sound of a helicopter grew louder. Clint looked up and recognized the Army helicopter and Steve next to the pilot. "Looks like the cavalry has arrived."

After a moment on the helipad the helicopter took off again, this time without Steve on it. After a few moments further and the sound of Steve's feet on the stairs before they watched him walk into the room with the rest of them. "Sorry I'm late."

"Join the army?" Clint asked.

Steve dropped his bag on the floor next to the bar and grinned. "I meet all the requirements now. It was pretty easy getting in and everything."

"Yeah, but, saving the world once wasn't enough for you?" Clint asked.

Steve shrugged. "Army was all I ever wanted to do. If I'm going to be a supersoldier forever I might as well be a soldier."

"Fair enough," Clint said. Who was he to argue wanting to get back into the game? Clint had jumped at every mission SHIELD had given him since New York. "We have a problem."

"I gathered as much from Dr. Banner's phone call," Steve said. He took a seat in one of the recliners.

"It's Bruce, Captain," Bruce said. He said it in the automatic way that made Clint wonder if this was not the first time they'd had this conversation.

Steve leaned on the arm of the chair. "It's Steve, Dr. Banner."

"SHIELD has named Natasha and I hostile targets. There is preference to bringing us in alive but the understanding is that if they get us in at all it's a success," Clint said.

Natasha looked away from them all and out the window. "And there are many in SHIELD who are going to take that as permission for a hit. We've got targets on our heads."

"What happened?" Steve asked.

Clint sighed. "I accepted a mission, a simple assassination in Paris. I was unable to perform a long-distance kill so I had to go into the hotel room to complete the assassination. While I was in there I stumbled on some damning evidence of the Council selling SHIELD secrets."

"You stumbled on it?" Tony asked.

"Yes, I stumbled on it," Clint said.

"Like, literally?" Tony asked. When he received a few half-hearted glares he rolled his eyes. "It's an unusual way to phrase something. How do you accidently stumble on damning evidence? You know what? Never mind. Please continue."

"The evidence, and my target, was incinerated in an explosion," Clint finished.

"How did the Council find out you knew?" Steve asked.

"I told them," Clint said.

"Why?" Tony asked.

"Protocol at SHIELD dictates that an employee of SHIELD suspected of being involved in criminal activities should be notified before arrest," Clint said.

Tony frowned. "That's a stupid protocol."

"Most of SHIELD's protocols are stupid," Clint said.

"If you'd kept the information to yourself and gone straight to the public then the Council wouldn't have had the chance to try and kill you," Steve said.

"And it's not like he follows any other protocol," Natasha muttered.

"I was giving them a chance to prove me wrong," Clint defended. "I mean, Gautier was a criminal and no matter what he said or what he had on him he couldn't really be trusted. If he lied and the evidence was fake and then I went to the public…I didn't want to take that kind of chance."

"And now we're hiding in Stark's tower and running for our lives," Natasha said.

Bruce cleared his throat. "I actually happen to agree with Agent Barton."

"Say what now?" Tony asked.

"Don't act all surprised. Clint showed patience and intelligence. I happen to respect both of those traits. Obviously Clint was right but had he been wrong, well, the results of him splashing a slanderous story across the news could've been catastrophic," Bruce said.

"That may be the dumbest smart thing I've ever heard," Tony said.

Clint dropped into the remaining recliner and realized how tired he was. Since Paris he hadn't slept, he'd been running on adrenaline from the explosion and then breaking out of SHIELD, and he felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Natasha came up behind him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, well, Clint does a lot of dumb smart things."

"We can't all be geniuses," Clint said.

They were all quiet for a moment and then Steve spoke up. "What's the plan?"

"Now that I know they really are selling secrets I'm going to go to the news," Clint said. "I'm going to get the word out as much and as often as I can before I'm either arrested or killed."

"You're certain they're selling secrets then? They admitted it?" Bruce asked.

"They might as well have admitted it," Clint growled.

Tony frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"One of the best ways to tell if someone is lying is to accuse them of it. When Clint told them what he knew they demanded proof. Liars want to know how much you know and people who are telling the truth assume there is nothing to be found," Natasha said. "When Clint pushed they escalated further and further before resorting to threats."

"What kind of threats?" Bruce asked.

"Death was a common theme," Clint said. "They told me they'd go after Natasha too."

Thor looked angry. "There are many wonderful things on this world but I have found that your people of power tend to be highly untrustworthy. This Council appears to have no honor if they attack Agent Barton's lady."

"I'm not his lady," Natasha snapped immediately.

Thor hesitated, confused perhaps, and then inclined his head. "My apologies, Lady Romanoff."

"Sorry," Natasha said softly.

Clint reached up and put his hand on hers. "Do you believe me?"

"I believe you," Thor said.

"As do I," Steve added. "You do not seem like the kind of man to lie or jump to conclusions, Agent Barton."

"Thank you," Clint said.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Going up against SHIELD? Of course I'm in."

"It's not all of SHIELD," Natasha said.

Clint nodded. "SHIELD has no idea what the Council has been up to."

Tony shrugged. "So then it's like, half of my dream. I'll still join."

"I'll do everything I can to help," Bruce said.

"Right now, that's not going to be a whole lot," Clint said. "I wanted to be sure that after the Council took me out of the picture, however they eventually do that, that someone would be there to pick up where I left off. You guys are the Avengers, after all. The world trusts you."

"You are an Avenger as well," Thor said. "The world will believe you too."

Clint grimaced. "I appreciate the notion but I was working for the wrong side for a lot of that charade."

"You were mind controlled and when the battle commenced you were working with the rest of us. You and Agent Romanoff are just as much a part of the Avengers as we are," Steve said.

"Nonetheless, I want someone ready to take it to the next step," Clint said.

"We'd be happy to," Steve said for the group.

Bruce cocked his head, like a dog hearing someone at the door. "What's that noise?"

Clint snapped his mouth shut and listened intently. At first he thought Bruce was going crazy since Clint couldn't hear anything but the breathing from every person in the room. Then, there it was – a faint whining noise. Clint stood and walked to the wall of windows and looked out. Past the buildings and appearing like a mere dot on the horizon was a helicopter, SHIELD issue. Clint put the helicopter and the noise together and came up with the most likely outcome. "They shot a missile at us."

"They shot a missile at _us_," Tony asked. "Who's dumb enough to try and take out the Avengers?"

"Loki," Natasha replied.

"SHIELD," Clint pressed while pointing a finger at the oncoming missile. "Iron Man?"

"I can only carry four and we'll be pretty slow that way," Tony said. He frowned for a moment and took off for the roof. "I've got something."

"What?" Bruce asked.

"A helicopter of my own," Tony replied. "Does anyone know how to fly?"

"Natasha and I both can fly," Clint said. He gave Tony a look. "Why would you buy a helicopter if you couldn't fly it?"

"I'm a billionaire," Tony said. "People with less self-control than I would buy a different helicopter for every day of the week just because they could."

"Who has less self-control than you?" Natasha asked.

Tony inclined his head. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"Wow, Agent Romanoff, I'm actually impressed. Tony Stark admitting to anyone that they were probably right…that's a big step," Bruce said as they followed Tony up to the top of the roof.

Tony flipped him off and then keyed in a code on a number pad. The floor of the helipad opened and a helicopter began to rise. Clint turned his eyes from the helicopter to the missile and back to the helicopter. "Is there a reason it has to go so slowly?"

"When I built this whole thing I was more into theatrics than I am now and I wasn't aware I was going to need it to run for my life," Tony said.

Finally, the helicopter was at full height. Clint and Natasha climbed in the pilot's and the co-pilot's seats respectively and pulled on the headsets. The remaining Avengers climbed into the back. Clint took a moment to examine the buttons and the gauges. "Tony? Why can't anything be simple with you?"

"I upgraded the helicopter," Tony said like it was an afterthought he just hadn't remembered to mention.

Clint frowned. "I can see that. Is there anything on this helicopter than works like it's supposed to?"

"I maintained all the controls it originally possessed. All I did was add on features," Tony replied.

Clint took a deep breath and looked past all the useless buttons to find the buttons he needed to get this bird off the ground. He sensed a pattern and looked at Natasha. "You see it?"

"Yeah, I think we can do this," Natasha said. She had a small grin on her face.

Clint did a systems check, probably the fastest systems check ever, and then hit the ignition. He pulled up on the controls and took the bird in the air. "Hey Tony, exactly how fast does this helicopter go?"

"Pretty damn fast," Tony said. Clint could practically hear him grinning.

Clint smiled and pushed forward. Tony hadn't been lying. They'd actually managed to get pretty far away when the missile made contact. There was no brilliant explosion and no fireball that rained down on the sky. Instead there was a quick, bright flash of light and then the whole top five or so floors of Stark Tower were gone. Steve's voice came in on the headsets. "What the hell was that?"

"Implosive missile," Tony said and then added for explanation. "I invented it."

"Everyone okay?" Natasha asked.

"My tower," Tony said somewhat pitifully. "Why do they always attack my tower?"

"Sorry, Tony Stark," Thor said.

Tony waved him off. "I have to call Pepper and tell her I'm–"

"No!" Clint said. He'd said it a little too loudly for a headset considering Natasha's slight cringe. "You can't make any calls. SHIELD has to be trying to track your phone right now and if they haven't locked onto it yet than making a call will be like lighting up a flare."

"So what? I'm just supposed to let her think I died back there?" Tony asked.

"Exactly," Clint said. Tony gave him a heated look to which Clint responded, "I'm sorry but she's safer thinking you're dead. On that note, everyone toss your phones out the side of the chopper."

"This is one of a kind," Tony said, holding up his phone.

"And now there are going to be none of them," Natasha said. "Clint's not trying to be an ass, even if he does come off like one. We're safer the fewer connections we have."

There was some grumbling from the back, mostly from Tony, but Clint counted five cellphones that fell from the helicopter. "Alright, who kept theirs?"

"Sorry, Agent Barton, I have no cellphone," Thor said.

"Oh, alright then," Clint said. "I'll set us down in a pretty remote looking area and then we'll find a motel for the night."

"Clint…" Natasha said and then elbowed him in the side.

He knew what she wanted him to do. He bit back his pride and said, "Guys, I'm sorry about this. I chose to make this a problem and then I brought it to your doorstep – literally in Tony's case. This shouldn't be your fight."

"We're in this together," Steve said.

Clint's pride was too much for him to say thank you.

**AVENGERSAVENGERSAVENGERS**

**AN: And that's a wrap. Hope everyone enjoyed it. I was just kind of excited to get all the Avengers into one place. I just saw Iron Man 3 yesterday. Iron Man and Hawkeye are probably my favorite Avengers so that was really a blast. Please review! I don't like to beg so don't make me.**


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